Review: Can't Block My Love by Xavier Neal (Hockey Gods #1)

Note: An advanced reader copy (ARC) was provided by the author via Social Butterfly PR.

It's more than two years since I read my first Xavier Neal book, and now, my second read from Neal is a series starter entitled Can't Block My Love. The Hockey Gods series is about Vlasta University's hockey team, the Vlasta Vipers, who have a storied past that made them the envy of many a college and university hockey team. Unfortunately, those glory days are long gone, and even as the current team struggles to regain the prestige and luster of the past, the players remain part of the upper crust in school's student hierarchy--a fact that Remington Ronald Rutledge the Third knows well. Unfortunately for him, his new coach isn't as big of a fan of his bad behavior, and he makes it abundantly clear that if Ren hopes for playing time on the ice, he's going to have to do the time, aka community service. He's assigned to Petropolis, and that's when he meets someone from his past: Poppy Diesel, aka the girl he called Hootie when they were kids, only Ren doesn't recognize her. He hopes Poppy'll give him an easy out volunteering, but Ren's about to learn a thing or two about playing by someone else's rules.

This was a fun read and a breath of fresh air after going through quite a few heavier reads lately. Ren was certainly every bit the bad boy that he was reputed to be, and his cocksure attitude had me very much tempted to smack him upside the head. Fortunately, the guy does mend his bad boy ways and is inspired to become a better man after Poppy comes back into his life. Poppy was someone who saw beyond the facade and she had faith that Ren would get his act together before it was too late. These two had a good connection and their banter was entertaining, which I consider a must when it comes to romantic comedy reads like this one. They may not have seemed to have a lot in common, but there's a kinship there, possibly due in large part to their history with one another. Aside from this having romance, the story is also about redeeming oneself and wanting to be more than what one is perceived to be. Because I'm a sucker for books that include animals in them, I can't help but give bonus points, especially since they're an integral part to the overall story. I'm giving Can't Block My Love 4.5 stars. ♥

About Scandalous
They call him The Mute for a reason.
Hard, cold and calculated, he rarely speaks.
When he does, it’s with disdain.
When he does, his words aren’t meant for me.
When he does, my stomach flips and my world tilts on its axis.
He is thirty-three.
I am eighteen.
He’s a single dad and my father’s business partner.
I’m just a kid to him and his enemy’s daughter.
He’s emotionally unavailable.
And I am…feeling. Feeling things I shouldn’t feel for him.
Trent Rexroth is going to break my heart. The writing isn’t just on the wall, it’s inked on my soul.
And yet, I can’t stay away.
A scandal is the last thing my family needs. But a scandal is what we’re going to give them.
And oh, what a beautiful chaos it will be.

All Wrapped Up for the Holidaysby Kristen Ashley, K. Bromberg, Colleen Hoover,Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward, Elle Kennedy, and Jill Shalvis Release Date: November 30, 2019 Cover Design: Sommer Stein (Perfect Pear Creative) About All Wrapped Up for the Holidays
It’s the season for gift giving!
Six FREE standalone holiday short stories!

The Merry Mistake by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward
Note to self: Ask Santa for glasses this year. When I accidentally mistook a gorgeous man resting outside my building for a homeless person in need of lunch, we got into it. I’d only been trying to do a good deed around the holidays, but he called me righteous. I called him something far worse. If only I didn’t have to see him again. But fate had other plans. Finding Perfect by Colleen Hoover
A short story that brings back several of Colleen’s most beloved characters. Told from the point of view of Daniel from Finding Cinderella, readers will finally get the story they’ve been begging for more of. For the be…

Note: An advanced reader copy (ARC) was provided by the author via Candi Kane PR.
All part of her Dirty book universe, Laurelin Paige has just wrapped up the story of Dylan Locke and Audrey Lind, the fourth among five co-owners of Reach Inc. and a graduate student and almost two decades younger, respectively, with Sweet Fate, the conclusion to the Dirty Sweet duet, which is preceded by the Dirty duet (Donovan Kincaid and Sabrina Lind), the Dirty Games duet (Weston King and Elizabeth Dyson), and Dirty Filthy Fix (Nathan Sinclair and Patricia Bisceglia--this is also a Fixed and Dirty crossover novella). This takes place a few months after the events in book one, Sweet Liar. When Dylan sees Audrey once again, it proves that he isn't over the young woman who turned his world on its head. She's still as beautiful and bubbly as ever, but she's also still much younger than him and in search of a happily-ever-after with a home to share with "the One" and several children…